The present invention relates to in-vehicle navigation systems and more particularly the present invention relates to a navigation system feature that facilitates making intermediate stops on route to a final destination.
In-vehicle navigation systems are available that provide end users (such as drivers of the vehicles in which the in-vehicle navigation systems are installed) with various navigating functions and features. For example, some in-vehicle navigation systems are able to determine an optimum route to travel by roads between locations in a geographic region. Using input from the end user, and optionally from equipment that can determine one""s physical location (such as a GPS system), a navigation system can examine various routes between two locations to determine an optimum route to travel from a starting location to a destination location in a geographic region. The navigation system may then provide the end user with information about the optimum route in the form of guidance that identifies the driving maneuvers required to be taken by the end user to travel from the starting location to the destination location. The guidance may take the form of visual and/or audio instructions that are provided along the way as the end user is traveling the route. Some navigation systems are able to show detailed maps on computer displays outlining routes to destinations, the types of maneuvers to be taken at various locations along the routes, locations of certain types of features, and so on.
In order to provide these and other navigating functions, navigation systems use geographic data. The geographic data may be in the form of one or more databases that include data that represent physical features in a geographic region. The geographic database may include data representing the roads and intersections in a geographic region and also may include information relating to the represented roads and intersections in the geographic region, such as turn restrictions at intersections, speed limits along the roads, street names of the various roads, address ranges along the roads, and so on.
Although navigation systems provide many important features, there continues to be room for improvements. One area in which there is room for improvement relates to providing guidance for routes that include one or more intermediate stops along the way to a final destination. One example of a situation in which this type of route occurs is when a navigation system user wants to stop at a restaurant along the way to a final destination. Some navigation systems can identify all the restaurants of a particular type within a specified distance (e.g., 5 km) of the vehicle""s current location. However, this information is not necessarily useful because these restaurants may be in the opposite direction from the final destination toward which the vehicle is traveling. Navigation systems may be able to identify all the restaurants of a particular type along a calculated route to the final destination. However, some of these restaurants may be difficult to reach from the calculated route and may require a significant amount of time to detour off the calculated route to reach.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for a feature in a navigation system that provides guidance about making intermediate stops along the way to a final destination.
To address these and other objectives, the present invention comprises a feature for a navigation system that allows a user to specify a type of point of interest at which the user wishes to make an intermediate stop while on route to a final destination. The feature identifies for the user one point of interest of the specified type at which an intermediate stop can be made while on route to the final destination, wherein a route to the final destination that includes an intermediate stop at the one point of interest takes less time than routes to the final destination that make an intermediate stop at other points of interest of the specified type.
According to another aspect, a feature in a navigation system provides information to the user of the navigation system about making an intermediate stop while on route to a final destination. The location of a point of interest at which the intermediate stop is made is selected to optimize any of various criteria relative to a route to the final destination that includes an intermediate stop at the point of interest. These criteria may include minimizing travel on roads other than controlled access roads, minimizing tolls, and minimizing overall distance, among other.
For purposes of this disclosure, a xe2x80x9cnavigation systemxe2x80x9d is understood to mean a navigation system installed in a vehicle (i.e., an in-vehicle navigation system). A xe2x80x9cnavigation systemxe2x80x9d is also understood to mean any software application installed on a computer platform that provides navigation-related features and uses geographic data, including applications that are installed on personal computers, networks, portable electronic devices, and so on.